“Eleanor the Great,” directed by Scarlett Johansson, is a poignantly funny film with a great deal of punch. Playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting on Sept. 26, it touches on themes of love between friends and relatives, longing for connection, and the nature of loss. While it’s deeply moving, there is plenty of lighthearted fun as well.
We meet proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor (beautifully played by June Squibb), rousing her best friend Bessie (touchingly portrayed by Rita Zohar) at 5:45 am. “We overslept,” she informs her, despite the early hour. The compatriots, with Eastern European Jewish accents, help one another dress and companionably prepare breakfast in their Florida home. On an outing for the day, the two go to the local grocery store. There, we first get a glimpse of Eleanor’s feisty character as she dresses down a stockboy who doesn’t want to check in the back to see if the kosher pickles have come in. After a humorous tirade in which Eleanor treats him as quite stupid, she finishes with the quip, “Okay, go fetch!”
Eleanor is equally tenacious when she tells an innocuous lie to get Bessie the care she needs after her dear friend ends up in the hospital. Sadly, though, Bessie doesn’t make it, and Eleanor is thrown into utter devastation by the loss of her bosom soulmate of 70 years.
The loss doesn’t soften Eleanor, as we see in her interaction with her daughter, Lisa (Jessica Hecht), whom she cuts down at every turn. For instance, Eleanor tells her grandson (Will Price) that his mother was exceedingly promiscuous in her youth, sharing that her nickname was “the class mattress.” But Lisa is determined to have Eleanor live with them in New York City until she can convince her to move nearby to a senior home. Even as Eleanor is grieving for Bessie, we can’t help but feel bad for Lisa at every putdown, since she is so sincerely trying to do what she believes is the right thing.
In the meantime, Eleanor cooks Shabbat dinners and goes to the local synagogue to crash bat mitzvahs of young girls she doesn’t know. At one point, Eleanor explains that she wants to celebrate her Jewish identity, which she wasn’t allowed to do in her youth.
Trying to keep Eleanor occupied while she is at work, Lisa signs her up for a class at the local Jewish community center. The story takes a fascinating turn right from Eleanor’s first experience there, when she reluctantly gets tangled up in a lie she doesn’t want to tell. By chance, it also brings her together with 19-year-old Nina (touchingly performed by Erin Kellyman). Nina, a student at New York University, is greatly affected by a terrible loss, and has a complicated relationship with her father (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
The intertwining of Eleanor’s lie and her relationship with Nina is increasingly complex and moving, keeping us engrossed along the way. Fascinatingly, “Eleanor the Great,” beautifully written by Tory Kamen, is based on a true story about the author’s grandmother, and the nature of loss and friendship.
For tickets and more information, visit mvfilmsociety.com.
